USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 20
USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 20
USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 20
USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 20
USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Century of Catholicism in western Massachusetts; being a chronicle of the establishment, early struggle, progress and achievements of the Catholic church in the five western counties of Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin > Part 20
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
L'Ordre des Forestiers
FRENCH Canadian organization which has over two thousand members in our diocese is the Order of Franco-American For- esters, many of whose present officers are from our diocese. Its supreme leader is Lawyer Teles- phore Le Boeuf, of Webster. Its supreme treasurer is Philip V. Erard, of Springfield. Its supreme recording secretary is Romeo D. Raymond, of Worcester. Its chief auditor is Omer H. Robert, of Millbury.
The membership of the Franco-American Foresters covers the New England states. It was organized in 1905. and its first two councils were those of Springfield, Massachusetts, and Woon- socket, Rhode Island. Though it is not an insur-
ance organization, it extends a helping hand to the needy, cares for its sick, buries its dead, and boasts that no Forester was ever buried in potter's field or at public expense.
The purpose of the society is to inculcate the principles of good citizenship, while preserving distinct the Franco-American contribution to our common civilization. Its membership, Catholic and American, learns from the principles of its order the value of obedience to lawfully constituted authority.
The Franco-American Foresters have seven prosperous courts in our diocese, in Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Chicopee, Worcester, Webster and Easthampton. Of these, the Webster court is the largest and furnishes the present head of the organization.
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The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America
HE organization which has a
branch in each of our Polish parishes is the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, a society which has social, frater- nal and benefit features that con- tribute to make it attractive to men and women of Polish birth or extraction. Formed in 1874, this thriving society today ap- proaches a membership of 200,000 in 1200 branches scattered throughout the centers of Polish population, and, in addition, provides for future membership by supervising 1,000 junior units. It is the oldest of the Polish fraternal groups in America, and exerts a widespread influence along the lines of activity authorized by its charter.
It has, of course, an apologetic vein, in that it defends the Poles against unfair attack or unjust discrimination. While inculcating the principles of sound American citizenship, it promotes knowledge. of the Polish language and acquaintance with Poland's history and tradition. It extends a help- ing hand to the Polish people in its varied under- takings of a civic or religious nature, promotes the establishment of Polish parishes and parish schools, and gives generous encouragement to orphanages and homes for the aged. A practical aid in keeping alive the glories of the Polish language and literature is a well-appointed library of Polish masterpieces.
This organization, too, takes a lively interest in the problems of the Polish immigrant by the formation of employment bureaus, by support- ing agricultural colonization and by defending the new arrival against any form of injustice to which the stranger in a strange land may fall an easy prey.
Its war activities were notable. It collected millions in war funds and aided materially the formation of the Polish Army, and the enrolment of Polish volunteers under the American colors.
In the educational field, its Department of Edu- cation has made a praiseworthy record in aiding
deserving but needy Polish students to pursue higher studies. The scholarships thus subsidized represent a total outlay of $350,765, while it main- tains a permanent library of nearly sixteen thou- sand volumes.
The Union also maintains a department to care for the disabled, especially the breadwinners who are injured in industry. For their relief, to tide them over financial crises, the Union has expended over a quarter of a million dollars. A tax of two cents per month in the membership replenishes the financial chest for these two branches.
Encouraging sports among its younger mem- bers is another activity to which the Union has turned in recent years. Baseball, basketball, soccer, twirling, tennis and volley ball competitions have been financed. The daily publication of the Union has been obliged to give an entire page to Polish sports, while two members are now in big league baseball.
The Union recognizes the power of the press and maintains two publications : a daily, Dziennik Zjednoczenia, and a weekly, Narod Polski. It has its own printing establishment in Chicago for the production of these flourishing periodicals.
The Union headquarters are located in Chicago, and its officials consist of president, chaplain, two vice-chaplains, vice-president, general sec- retary, treasurer, attorney, editor, head medical examiner and fourteen directors. The present rapid growth in membership indicates that the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America is in a healthy condition, and its prosperity augurs well for the future of the Polish people.
The Union, flourishing especially in the Middle West, where populous Polish groups are almost as numerous as the large cities, follows the Polish people with its kindly aid and advice, from the day the immigrant lands, bewildered, in a strange land, until he finds a permanent home among his own kith and kin, urges and aids the education of his children, fosters his literature, and safeguards his faith against insidious attacks.
The Daughters of Isabella
HE Daughters of Isabella, an organiza- tion for Catho- lic women. along the lines of the Knights of Columbus, was founded in New Haven, in 1897, and ob- tained a national charter in 1907, under the title of National Circle, Daughters of Isabella. One object of the society is to teach Catholic women to live up to the ideals of the great Spanish queen, who was so devout in the practice and defense of her faith as to be called Isabella the Catholic; who was so loyal to the nation of her birth that she is fondly referred to as the Span- ish Joan of Arc; who was so instrumental in winning Spanish support for Columbus that she is justly called the godmother of America; who was so successful in her effort to drive the last vestige of Moorish power from Spain that she is called the last of the crusaders.
Catholic women, cast in the mold of Isabella, must be loyal to the higher ideals of religion and country, foremost in fostering the cause of each, and unhesitating in resenting attacks on either. The Daughters have always been especially active in the sacred cause of Catholic charity; and, with- out any particular blare of trumpets, have expend- ed more than a million dollars in the last ten years for such worthy causes as scholarships, memorials, missions, hospital work, relief work, war work, propagation of the Faith, and contri- butions to churches, hospitals, asylums, homes for the aged, seminaries, maternity hospitals and homes for girls. This is a noble record of charity made by an organization whose members are far from wealthy.
Of the four hundred thirty circles throughout the United States and Canada, sixty-four are in our state, and of these thirty-seven are in our dio- cese. The total Massachusetts membership is over 10,000. Our pioneer group was Regina Circle, in
STATE OFFICERS, DAUGHTERS OF ISABELLA LEFT : Miss Irene M. Taylor, Winchendon, State Treasurer. CENTER-Miss Katherine F. Burns, Chicopee, Past State Regent. RIGHT-Mrs. Margaret Tully, Southbridge, State Secretary.
Mrs. Mary F. Davitt Longmeadow National Treasurer
Miss Elizabeth Moran Ware National Advocate
NATIONAL OFFICERS, DAUGHTERS OF ISABELLA
Springfield, organized in 1912. with Mrs. Mary F. Davitt as first regent. Its charter member- ship of 141 has increased to 385. and its first regent has become national treasurer. In Massa- chusetts, the Daughters have made splendid contributions to Catholic hospitals, especially to the hospital for incurable cancer patients at Cambridge, and among the Catholic orphanages which have benefited by their generosity is St. Vincent's Home, at Ingleside. Vacation schools for Christian Doctrine. homes for working girls at a minimum expense, and other deserving projects of Catholic charity, enlist the generous support of individual circles.
Among the national officers, we are gratified to see the names of Mrs. Mary F. Davitt, of Long- meadow, Massachusetts, national treasurer, and Miss Elizabeth C. Moran, of Ware, national ad- vocate, while among the state officers we note with pleasure the names of Miss Katherine F. Burns, of Chicopee, past state regent, Mrs. Margaret Tully, of Southbridge, state secretary, and Miss Irene M. Taylor, Winchendon, state treasurer. In less than two decades of existence, in our diocese, this society has done splendid work along chari- table and philanthropic lines, has set an example in its willingness to aid local parochial undertak- ings, and has furnished its full quota of state and national officers, a recognition on the part of state and national officials that Springfield's Daughters of Isabella are worthy both of their great patroness and the noble sisterhood which bears her name.
3
ULUS.
MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM C. HAYES Springfield Colonel 104th Infantry, A. E. F.
BRIGADIER-GEN. THOMAS E. FOLEY Worcester Major 101st Infantry, A. E. F.
CAPTAIN JOHN J. HYLAND Holyoke Captain U. S. Battleship Nevada
X
COLONEL JOHN F. HERBERT Worcester Colonel 102d Field Artillery, A. E. F.
COLONEL WILLIAM DOLAN Fitchburg Chief Ord. Officer, 26th Div. A. E. F.
OUTSTANDING WORLD WAR MILITARY LEADERS OF THE SPRINGFIELD DIOCESE
Official War Department photo of Rev. George S. L. Connor, Rector of St. Michael's Cathedral, Springfield, celebrating Mass in a ruined church at Ro- mague, France. Father Connor was Senior Chaplain, 32nd Division, A. E. F.
Springfield Diocese with the Colors
SECTION VI
Springfield with the Colors
IIROUGH the courtesy of the Na- tional Catholic Welfare Con- ference and the War Depart- ment, we are enabled to present in part the proud record of our diocese in the trying days of the World War. The National Catholic Welfare Conference Headquarters at Washington, through its historical department, has striven to compile the roll of Catholic men enlisted, the numbers who were decorated for bravery, the numbers who made the supreme sacrifice, the numbers of women workers who aided the American cause, etc. These records are still sadly incomplete, owing to the failure of many parishes and even whole cities, to report, and yet the records already compiled show a total of 804,000 Catholic soldiers out of a total enrolment of 4,600,000-nearly 100,000 more than our numerical quota. It is difficult to compile these tables, because the government lists do not designate the religion of soldiers and sailors. Hence the N. C. W. C. is dependent largely upon private initiative for its data.
In the five counties of Western Massachu- setts, which make up the Diocese of Springfield, the total of Catholic enlistments now recorded at Washington and reported through the National Catholic Welfare Conference Service, has reached 20,598. Here, as elsewhere, returns from many parishes and towns have not been made, and yet this figure, 20,598, represents nearly 4,000 more than our quota should be, if we judge by our proportion of the population. Thirty-one parish reports are still missing.
One thousand four hundred forty-eight sol- diers of these western counties died in battle, or as a result of wounds, and 532 of these have been identified as Catholics. The table found in the Gold Star Record of Massachusetts contains 234 others that may be Catholic names, but are found on no parish lists yet received. And names do not tell the whole story. In one of our towns, the Legion post is called Austin-Tunstall, after the only two soldiers from the town who died in the service. Neither name is unmistakably Catholic, but both belonged to our Church. Hence, authen-
tic data is necessary to determine the religious belief of those in our national forces.
Through this same National Catholic Welfare Conference Service, one hundred forty graves of Springfield's soldier dead, who lie in Flanders Field and along the western front, have been blessed. Last year, the government began to finance pilgrimages of gold star mothers to the last resting places of their soldier boys. Similar groups will go annually until 1933. Of the 3,655 mothers who crossed the ocean to date of writing, thirty were from the Diocese of Springfield.
When the call went out for Catholic chaplains, Springfield was asked to furnish fifteen. Twenty- six volunteered and twenty served, of whom one, Rev. William Davitt, was the last enlisted officer to fall in the awful struggle. He received the Croix de Guerre of France, and was recom- mended for our Distinguished Service Cross. The Knights of Columbus council, Lenox, a bronze memorial at the State House, in Boston, a bronze tablet in St. Ann's church, Lenox, a public square near the scene of his parochial labors in Worcester, perpetuate his name, and the admira- tion of his native city, his state, and the city of his priestly work for his high-minded, patriotic service. In addition, Father Zarek, of our dio- cese, died in the service of Poland, and three fathers of the Assumption College, at Worcester, fell while fighting for France.
Investigations made up to date show that of 89 American decorations for bravery or dis- tinguished service in western Massachusetts, 56 went to Catholics, 21 to non-Catholics, and 12 are in doubt.
Of 175 foreign decorations in these five west- ern counties, eighty-seven went to Catholics, fifty- four to non-Catholics and in thirty-four cases it was impossible to find the religion of the recipi- ent. Corporal Homer J. Wheaton, of Worcester, received the first posthumous award of a United States Distinguished Service Cross.
George F. Myers, of Northampton, was award- ed the highest military decoration of the French government, the Medaille Militaire. This decora- tion can be earned only on the field of battle and then not until a soldier has been the recipient of
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three citations for bravery in three distinct actions. Mr. Myers was also awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm, the Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star, and the Distinguished Service Cross.
Alfred J. Houle, of Leominster, and Louis F. Corre, of Holyoke, were also awarded that most coveted of decorations, the Medaille Militaire, and also the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
Major General Thomas F. Foley, of Worces- ter, and Major Luke C. Doyle, of Worcester, were singled out for special honor by the French Government when they were made Chevaliers of the French Legion of Honor. Both received the Croix de Guerre.
Michael J. Donohue, of Holyoke, was deco- rated by three governments, receiving the French Croix de Guerre, the British Distinguished Service Order and the Russian Order of St. Vladimier, with swords.
Catholic Springfield also had its representa- tives who served with distinction in the air forces. Harold F. Buckley, of Agawam, made a record which reads like an epic of the air. In one battle he destroyed an enemy plane and put six to flight. In another, he dove through hostile fire to destroy an enemy balloon, and the next day brought down an enemy plane. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Oak Leaf Cluster and the Bronze Oak Leaf.
A Southbridge Catholic, Sergeant Arthur L. Rindeau, of the Marines, received a Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross. Private Alex- ander Zambryski of Worcester, was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to wear with his Distinguished Service Cross and the Italian War Cross. Pri- vates Raymond and Herbert St. George, brothers, of Worcester, fell in action, and were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Several citations which went with the award- ing of the Distinguished Service Cross are worthy of note. Col. Thomas F. Foley, of Worcester, "under heavy machine gun and sniper fire, per- sonally led his battalion in successful attack." Lieut. Thomas F. Bresnahan, of Fitchburg, "organized a detachment of orderlies, runners and casuals, and attacked a German patrol, which was completely routed." Lieut. Eustis B. Grimes, of Fitchburg, advanced under intense machine gun fire to "wipe out a machine gun nest which had been harassing our line." Lieut. George W. Jones, of Worcester, "though painfully wounded, directed the work of rescuing men from de-
molished dugouts, reorganized his battery, and carried out orders for immediate fire." Sergeant Major Edward R. Lawless, of Leominster, when "it seemed almost impossible to get through the murderous fire," carried an important message across an open space of five hundred yards, though it was his first time under fire.
Our diocese, too, contributed its full share to the magnificent work done by the Catholic Women's War Service Council, which formed 167 parish aides and eight clubs. Over fourteen thousand women enrolled in this campaign and gave nearly 60,000 hours a week at Red Cross headquarters alone. They contributed to the health and comfort of our forces over 32,000 hospital garments, nearly 82,000 refugee gar- ments, nearly 263,000 surgical dressings, 19,000 knitted socks and 18,000 sweaters. In addition, independent organizations which antedated the foundation of these councils and continued to the end of the struggle, added a splendid chapter of volunteer effort. For instance, the Sacred Heart War Relief, of Springfield, during the two years of strife, raised nearly $10,000 for relief, fur- nished complete kits to the departing soldiers, and sent them over five hundred boxes each Christmas.
Fifty-seven Catholic names appear as "buried or lost at sea," and this simple announcement con- ceals many a death of heroism, of which one was the self-sacrificing death of a Springfield Diocese boy, Chief Machinist James A. McGourty, of St. Paul's Parish, Worcester. When his vessel, the Lake Moor, was torpedoed and became so un- manageable that the boats could not be lowered, he volunteered to go down into the torrid inferno of the engine room, to shut off the raging steam that was responsible for the vessel's action. Blanket over his head, he went down backwards, accomplished his purpose, but never returned. The boats were lowered, and officers and crew escaped to relate the heroic death of a former altar boy at St. Paul's, Worcester. Such instances as this give a glimpse at the heroism often con- cealed in the bare announcement "lost at sea." In recognition of his heroism, McGourty re- ceived, posthumously, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Croix de Guerre and the Navy Cross.
Catholic Springfield, too, furnished a full share of able and inspiring leaders. Major Gen- eral William P. Hayes, of Springfield, was the real organizer of the 104th, which he led to the trenches and commanded that first trying winter
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"over there." This finely trained regiment was the only unit in the American forces that was deco- rated by the French Government. Brigadier Gen- eral Thomas E. Foley and Colonel John F. J. Her- bert, of Worcester, and Col. William Dolan, of Fitchburg, who rose to Chief Ordnance Officer of the Twenty-Sixth (Yankee) Division, won their spurs in actual combat, while Major James Duane, of Clinton, received his last promotion on the field at Verdun.
In our naval forces, Captain John J. Hyland, of Holyoke, a graduate of Annapolis in 1900, and at present commander of the U. S. Battleship Ne- vada, was one of those wonderful convoy leaders who all but defied the German submarines.
We know, of course, that our data from the National Catholic Welfare Conference does not tell the whole story, and that, consequently, our attention will be called to many an omission in this recital. We shall be anxious to receive any and all additions and corrections. The MIRROR will gladly see to it that all data thus received reaches the official archives of the National Catholic Wel- fare Conference's historical department at Wash- ington, where it will help complete the record of Springfield's outstanding contribution to the suc- cess of American arms.
As an example of information not yet received at the headquarters of the National Catholic Wel- fare Conference, we cite the case of Chief Ma- chinist McGourty, already described, and that of Edward F. Murphy, of West Fitchburg, whose lists of medals and citations look like a regimental roll of honor, rather than the heroic records of two soldiers. The valor of Private Murphy was officially recognized by
1. A Distinguished Service Cross and citation. 2. French War Cross and citation.
3. Italian Military Medal and citation.
4. Two divisional citations by General Edwards. Such omissions as these throw into eloquent re- lief the incompleteness of the records thus far sent to the National Catholic Welfare Confer- ence.
The twenty chaplains from our diocese recall the fact that, in order to furnish our quota, a class of seminarians were ordained early. More than the number of priests called for offered their services, and five more than our quota were accepted. In alphabetical order, our chap- lains who served under the American flag were Rev. J. H. Boutin, Rev. J. M. Burke, Rev.
A. J. Cayer, Rev. Geo. S. L. Connor, Rev. W. F. Davitt, Rev. J. J. Fitzgibbons, Rev. C. L. Foley, Rev. P. H. Gauthier, Rev. H. J. Hackett, Rev. L. E. Laviolette, Rev. J. F. Martin, Rev. G. S. McGourty, Rev. J. F. Mongovan, Rev. A. T. Nowak, Rev. J. F. Reilly, Rev. H. Remy, Rev. L. F. Rock, Rev. R. J. Shields, Rev. J. D Sulli- van and Rev. J. W. Tobin. They belong to that group of Catholic chaplains of whom an admiring soldier said: "They were all . ... wonderful." Father Connor, of the Cathedral, received the Croix de Guerre.
A special contribution of our diocese to the cause of the Allies, though not directly to the cause of Old Glory, was that of the Assumption Fathers, at Worcester, who served under the tri- color of France, or the sister tricolor of Belgium. Every member of the faculty of Assumption College saw service in the great struggle, and three of them, all decorated for bravery, made the supreme sacrifice : Rev. M. C. Bouillon, who fell at Verdun, on the field that immortalized the slogan : "They shall not pass"; Rev. J. Vallon, wounded in 1916 and killed in action in 1917; and Rev. G. Boudou, fatally wounded at Mt. Kemmel, in Flanders. All three received the Croix de Guerre, and Father Boudou was post- humously awarded the Medaille Militaire. Be- sides those who gave up their lives that France might live, Father Guissard was decorated seven times for heroism under fire, Father Cleux received both the Croix de Guerre and the Medaille Militaire for intrepidity in battle, and Father Dumoulin was decorated with the Croix de Guerre. They served as soldiers in France and chaplains in Belgium. They saw service from the opening struggle at Namur to the closing gun, and served alike in Belgium, along the Hinden- burg line, and on the Greek front.
For the entire faculty of a college to volun- teer would be a wonderful record under the most favorable circumstances. The action of these fathers, who volunteered from Worcester, is an outstanding proof of Catholic patriotism, how Catholics give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, no matter how outrageously unjust Caesar may have been to them. These scholarly priests were victims of radical injustice, had been driven out of France by the decree of Premier Combes, in 1899. Yet, when the party of Combes was failing France, when socialist leaders were proving corrupt and selfish, these exiled religious
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c3= answered the call of national distress, and offered their lifeblood for the land which denied them community existence. They were typical of French Catholics, whose patriotism, under the able and inspiring leadership of such Catholics as Foch, Joffre, Castelnau and Petain, saved Paris and France from the results of their own folly in closing their most patriotic schools and driving to more friendly shores their most
patriotic sons and daughters. It might, perhaps, be too much to hope that France may not forget.
The Catholic record for bravery, as revealed in military citations and decorations, is so bril- liant that we append the entire list, so far as we have been able to compile it, as a permanent record of the "high spots" in Springfield's superb contribution to the victory of the American colors along the far-flung battle line of the World War.
American Citations and Decorations
BELANGER, EDWARD A. Private. Co. F, 9th infantry, 2d division. Born at North Adams, enlisted at Chicopee Falls. At Vaux, France, July 1, 1918, he bravely at- tacked eight of the enemy, killing four, capturing four. Distinguished service cross.
BLANCHETTE, EDWARD W. Corporal. Co. A, 104th in- fantry, 26th division. Born at Millbury, enlisted there. Near Verdun, Oct. 16, 1918, although wounded and ordered to rear, when sergeant killed, he took command and continued until he dropped from exhaustion. Dis- tinguished service cross.
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